Washington, D.C. – Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) has issued the following statement in response to recent reports of Dr. Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani doctor who helped the U.S. identify Osama bin Laden, embarking on a hunger strike in protest of his inability to see his family or legal counsel and his continued harsh treatment in prison as he awaits his next appeal hearing recently postponed until June:

“We should take this opportunity to initiate a forceful strategy to save this hero rather than the quiet diplomacy the U.S. State Department has been insisting on and the Republican leadership of the House has acquiesced to.

“The U.S. Ambassador should be recalled and legislation should be passed to withhold foreign aid to Pakistan as long as they are doing the bidding of terrorists and persecuting the likes of Dr. Afridi.

“Dr. Afridi is showing us, in a courageous way, that quiet diplomacy isn’t working. He was bold enough to help the U.S. bring justice to the mass murderer Osama Bin Laden but unfortunately the actions of the American government have been cowardly in comparison.”

Rep. Rohrabacher is Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats.